Nintendo has upped production of its popular Switch console to avoid a pre-Christmas sell out in the shops.

The games firm is revelling in soaring interest in the console-cum-handheld device.

And it is trying to ensure plenty of console stock for the festive season by urging suppliers to make 2million more machines a month going forward.

The maker wants to be able to ship close to 20 million units to buyers globally for 2017.

By the end of June 2017, Nintendo had already sold 4.7 million Switches but that figure is expected to jump dramatically in the coming months with a strong amount of machines in stores.

Hit titles like Splatoon 2, Mario Kart and Fifa 18 have helped garner a new army of fans after the previous console, the Wii U, flopped with gamers.

Nintendo is now looking to launch its hit machine in China.

Nintendo Switch Essential Games Lists

Whether they're already available or coming soon, Nintendo Switch owners would be stupid to avoid these games

1 / 14

The company also wants to capitalise on the growing Chinese games market in early 2018 and make a fortune.

But it also doesn't want those efforts to hamper sales in Britain.

Sources pointed out that the Switch shortages have been mainly due to tight supplies of key components that make up the electronics and has nothing to do with defective components or issues on its assembly.

Manufacturer Foxconn currently makes the bulk of the machines alongside Japan-based Hosiden.

It is tasked with ramping up the production line to keep consoles flowing to shops across the globe.

Shares in Nintendo climbed to a more than nine-year high on Friday following the boost to Switch orders.

Shares rose as much as 3.3% to the highest level since September 8, 2008.

The news comes after it was revealed that Nintendo has surpassed Sony on the stock market.

This is according to industry analyst Serkan Toto, who notes that Sony's valuation on current market capitalisation stands at US$46.3 billion.Nintendo: US$54.6 billion.

But Nintendo's valuation has surpassed the company and is now sitting at an incredible US $54.6 billion.

The long and short of this data boils down to one very simple fact: Nintendo is now worth more than Sony (that's every arm of the company - including the videogame arm, the home entertainment arm, the movie production portion and so on).

Nintendo already hit a 9-year high with its share price earlier this year, and this information just goes to show that the company's gamble with mobile games and the hybrid Switch console is paying off.

Nintendo's share price has been rising steadily since the release of its newest console, and investors are showing renewed confidence in the company after a few years of speculation damaged the company's value.